We all can't be professional writers; we all can't have our own newspaper columns. This right here is my space. I get to be my own writer and editor and everyone else will just have to settle to be my critic.

Friday, April 29, 2016

Oyemam Autoimmune Foundation

When adversity hits, how do you respond?
Cower in a corner waiting for the worse, or do you stand up, chest out, determined to fight against the odds?
How about when you get past it, when you successfully overcome? Do you fold your arms, sit in a corner hoping that is the end, hoping that you never hear about it ever again?

When diagnosed with lupus, though it interrupted her life, though she did not understand why what was happening was happening to her, determined to make it and to live life as normally as she could, Mrs. Emma Wilhelmina Halm Danso, decided to fight it. She decided she would not let lupus determine the pace of her life.

Mrs. Halm Danso, Launch of Oyemam Autoimmune Foundation

I remember in school we took a class trip to FESPACO in Ouagadougou. It was such a fun trip especially since it was a road trip from Accra all the way up north into Burkina Faso. Mrs. Halm Danso couldn't join us on the road because of her condition. She flew in to Ouagadougou to join us. Though she missed out on all the fun we had on the road, she joined in to have fun with us in Ouagadougou.

Mrs. Halm Danso with yours truly and our classmates at FESPACO 2009

I didn't know her condition at the time, but I know most of us did not understand what she was going through just to show up. For the rest of us, all we needed to do involved waking up, taking a shower, getting dressed and just joining in. For Mina, it took so much more than that. Did she let her condition stop her from joining in the fun? No! The class was aware there was something going on with her, but what exactly it was, we did not know.

Mina, now much better, knowing what she has been through, is determined to give hope to others suffering from autoimmune disorders. Mina might not have made it without the support system she has, without the support she has had from others. One of the major problems about autoimmune disorders is lack of awareness. No one should be left to deal with this condition alone, and Mrs. Halm Danso, together with her husband, Mr. Kwasi Danso have resolved to inspire hope for persons suffering from autoimmune disorders to live on.

Autoimmune disorders for some reason affect women more than men. Getting correctly diagnosed is difficult because the symptoms are often misleading. Chances are an affected person might be treated for 100 other conditions before being accurately diagnosed. Medication for the condition are astronomically priced (NHIS does not cover treatment), which is sad (very) because access to treatment improves chances of survival. It is not easy, but there is opportunity in adversity and Mina is using this opportunity to help others.